A lowrider bicycle is a highly customized bicycle

Bicycle

A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

 with a long wheelbase and stylings inspired by lowrider

Lowrider

]A lowrider is a style of car originated by Chicano communities that sits lower to the ground than most other cars. Many lowriders have their suspension systems modified so that their ride can change height at the flip of a switch...

 cars. These bikes often feature a long, curved banana seat with a sissy bar

Sissy bar

A sissy bar, also called a "sister bar" or "passenger backrest" is an addition to the rear of a motorcycle that allows the rider or passenger to recline against it while riding...

 and very tall upward-swept ape hanger handlebars. A lot of chrome, velvet, and overspoked wheels are common accessories to these custom bicycles.

Sheldon Brown

Sheldon Brown (bicycle mechanic)

Sheldon Brown was an American bicycle mechanic and technical authority on bicycles. He contributed to numerous print and online sources related to bicycling, bicycle mechanics and maintenance, including his own website — and received numerous awards for his contributions.-Biography:Brown...

 wrote of lowriders "they are built purely as an exercise in styling, with no real concern for riding qualities. Some of them, in fact, are not rideable, because the cranks are so close to the ground that the pedals cannot turn around."

History

Lowrider bikes first appeared in the 1960s in America. Kids would copy the work on Lowrider

Lowrider

]A lowrider is a style of car originated by Chicano communities that sits lower to the ground than most other cars. Many lowriders have their suspension systems modified so that their ride can change height at the flip of a switch...

 cars on their bikes, usually starting with common muscle bikes

Wheelie bike

A wheelie bike, also called a muscle bike, high-riser, or banana bike, is a type of stylized children's bicycle designed in the 1960s to resemble a chopper motorcycle and characterized by ape hanger handlebars, a banana seat with sissy bar, and small wheels. Notable examples include the Schwinn...

. This allowed those who were too young to drive a car to have a custom vehicle. Schwinn was the first company to launch a muscle bike in the form of the Sting-Ray.

Eddie Munster

Eddie Munster

Edward Wolfgang "Eddie" Munster is a fictional character on the CBS sitcom The Munsters, originally played by Butch Patrick. The only child of Herman and Lily Munster, Eddie is a werewolf...

's custom bicycle, created by George Barris

George Barris (auto customizer)

George Barris is a designer of custom cars.-Early history:George and his brother Sam were born in Chicago in the 1920s. After the deaths of their parents, they moved to Roseville, California as children to live with relatives. Both were good students, interested in drama, music, and design...

 and Skip Barrett of Barris Kustom Industries, is sometimes credited with spreading the popularity of lowriders, but the bike was not made public until the 1990s.

Source bikes

Some make bicycles are particularly popular among lowrider builders. Most well known of these are the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

-produced Schwinn Sting-Ray (usually 20", but 16" and even 12" Schwinn Tigers are used) and in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 the Malvern Star

Malvern Star

Malvern Star is a manufacturer of bicycles, located in Melbourne, Australia. It began in 1902, and went on to become a household name in Australia.-History:Malvern Star opened in a small shop at 58 Glenferrie Rd, in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern in 1902...

 long frame dragsters and bratz beutie bikes. Another favorite of the period was the Iverson

Stelber Cycle Corp

Stelber Cycle Corp was a manufacturer bicycles located in New York City. It was granted a patent for a bicycle stabilizer in 1952. It offered cruiser bicycles in the 1950s and several models during the 1960s in the wheelie bike style designed by George Barris under the Iverson brand name. The...

 Dragstripper, which featured a long "exhaust pipe" body that gave it a distinctive look. The new lowrider trend is also related to the trend in Cruiser

Cruiser bicycle

Cruiser bicycles, also known as beach cruisers, combine balloon tires, upright seating posture, single-speed drivetrains, and straightforward steel construction with expressive styling...

or Beach Cruiser style bikes. Today, pre-built and even custom made one of a kind lowriders are available from lowrider bicycle shops and even some lowrider car workshops.

Modifications

Some basic or classic characteristics of a lowrider bike are: Baby Daytons (like the car rims, they are overspoked and radially laced) with white-wall tyres

Bicycle tire

A bicycle tire is a tire that fits on the wheel of a bicycle, unicycle, tricycle, quadracycle, bicycle trailer, or trailer bike. They may also be used on wheelchairs and handcycles, especially for racing...

. Banana seats, usually custom upholstery and a customized sissy bar. Ape or Schwinn type handlebars. Old school spring action suspension for the front forks known as "springer forks". Fenders both front and back. Sometimes a chain steering wheel is attached. Most accessories are highly polished chrome, however gold is also used for added flare though for economical reasons chrome is the standard.

Some lowrider bikes are modified into lowrider tricycles, allowing them to sit much closer to the ground while still being rideable, to hop without falling over if they have air bag or hydraulic suspension and given them extra carry space in the back. The space between the two rear wheels is often used to mount either a 2-seater "love seat", a "boom-box" or even pumps for hydraulic or air "suspension".

Some custom modifications include twisted forks, spokes or handlebars, what are known as "bird cages" (twisted metal strips that resemble a bird cage) that are cut and welded onto handlebars, sissy bars or pedals. Many of the bikes also feature custom frame work such as tanks and skirts which are the addition of sheets of metal, usually welded on, to the frame to give it a "filled-in" look. Some lowrider bicycles even have air or hydraulic cylinders set-up to emulate the height adjustable suspension

Height adjustable suspension

Height adjustable suspension is a feature of certain automobile suspension systems that allow the motorist to vary the ride height or ground clearance. This can be done for various reasons including giving better ground clearance over rough terrain, a lower ground clearance to improve fuel economy...

of lowrider motor cars.